By Henrylito D. Tacio
“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” — John Wooden
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“The most important ingredient of leadership is character. Most of the proficiencies can be learned. It is what is inside you that is difficult to change,” said Jesse M. Robredo, the 2000 Ramon Magsaysay Award recipient for government service.
Leni Robredo’s husband rebuilt the public’s confidence in governance by changing Naga with transparent, community-focused leadership. Dismissing patronage politics, he modernized city governance, enhanced public services, bolstered local enterprises, broadened access to education and healthcare, and enabled citizens to engage directly in decision-making.
Under his guidance, Naga City recovered from the economic downturn to become one of the Philippines’ top examples of democratic governance — demonstrating that principled leadership based on integrity, responsibility, and community involvement can truly change communities.
In a psychological and moral sense, character is the combination of your habits, thoughts, and ethical choices. It represents who you are and what you stand for when nobody is looking.
The term character derives from the Greek charaktēr (“mark, distinctive quality”), traveling through Latin and French before reaching English. The Greek noun originates from the verb charassein, which translates to “to sharpen, etch in furrows, or engrave.”
The actual meaning of the noun (“an engraved or imprinted mark”) was present in Greek, Latin, and French alongside the metaphorical one (“a distinctive quality”), and both meanings were adopted into English early, with a version of the metaphorical sense emerging first.
Now, there’s this story of a scorpion, being a poor swimmer, who asked a turtle to carry him on his back across a river. “Are you mad?” exclaimed the turtle. “You’ll sting me while I’m swimming and I’ll drown.”
“My dear turtle,” laughed the scorpion, “if I were to sting you, you would drown and I would go down with you. Now, where is the logic in that?’
“You’re right,” agreed the turtle. “Hop in!”
The scorpion climbed aboard halfway across the river and gave the turtle a mighty sting. As they both sank to the bottom, the turtle resignedly said, “Do you mind if I ask you something? You said there’d be no logic in your stinging me. Why did you do it?”
“It has nothing to do with logic,” the drowning scorpion sadly replied. “It’s just my character.”
“There is no substitute for character,” reminds Robert A. Cook. “You can buy brains, but you cannot buy character.” Character, according to D.L. Moody, “is what you are in the dark.”
A life founded on the shifting sands of fame can be destroyed by the storms of setbacks. A life constructed on the foundations of materialism can be washed away by the waves of hardship. A life constructed on the shores of enjoyment can be swept away by the gusts of disappointment. Only a life founded on the solid ground of character can endure the storms of time.
Our character was formed in our youth by our parents (or those who looked after us). One psychologist reminded: “If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn. If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight. If a child lives with fear, he learns to be apprehensive. If a child lives with jealousy, he learns to feel guilty. If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient. If a child lives with encouragement, he learns to be confident.
“If a child lives with praise, he learns to be appreciative. If a child lives with acceptance, he learns to love. If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself. If a child lives with recognition, he learns it is good to have a goal. If a child lives with honesty, he learns what truth is. If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice. If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith in himself and those about him. If a child lives with friendliness, he learns the world is a nice place in which to live.”
Different strokes for different folks, so goes a familiar saying. It’s no wonder why each person has different views about a traditional practice. Take the practice of going to church, for instance. A poet scribbled these few lines: “Some go to church to take a walk; some go to church to laugh and talk; some go there to meet a friend; some go there to spend their time. Some go there to meet a lover; some go there to cover a fault; some go there for speculation; some go there for observation. Some go there to doze and nod; the wise go there to worship God.”
A number of famous quotes about character down through the years have focused on one attribute: The hidden nature of character. Thomas Macaulay said: “The measure of a man’s real character is what he would be if he knew he never would be found out.”
An anonymous author explained: “The difference between personality and character: Personality is what you are when lots of people are around; character is what you are when everybody goes home.”
One character attribute that most people find laudable is integrity. My dictionary defines integrity as “unimpaired condition.” Such an attribute is manifested by American novelist John Grisham, author of blockbuster books that become blockbuster movies. He has been called “a straight arrow making his way along a very crooked path.”
In an interview with a magazine, Grisham has said he would rather be a nice guy than resort to filling his books with sex and gore. He refuses to write anything that would offend or embarrass either his mother or his children.
Contrary to what many in the publishing world might have predicted, his approach has paid off big. Fan mail and sales from The Firm and The Pelican Brief, are proof. Films made from his novels are box office hits!
Integrity is synonymous with honesty. American president George Washington pointed out: “I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.”
“Honesty is the first chapter of the book of wisdom,” Thomas Jefferson said. Film actor Groucho Marx suggested: “There’s one way to find out if a man is honest – ask him. If he says, ‘Yes,’ you know he is a crook.”
Someone once said: “The beginning of greatness is to be little, the increase of greatness is to be less, and the perfection of greatness is to be nothing.” He was actually talking about humility.
“Humility is the first of virtues,” Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “for other people.” John Ruskin noted, “I believe that the first test of a truly great man is his humility. I do not mean by humility, doubt of his own power. But really great men have a curious feeling that the greatness is not in them, but through them. And they see something divine in every other man…”
“Humility,” Confucius said, “is the solid foundation of all the virtues.”
The Bible indicates that a person’s genuine character lies in the heart instead of external appearances. Individuals judge by outer looks, but God assesses one’s inner character (1 Samuel 16:7).
E. Stanley Jones said it well: “Character is supreme in life, hence Jesus stood supreme in the supreme thing – so supreme that, when we think of the ideal, we do not add virtue to virtue, but think of Jesus Christ, so that the standard of human life is no longer a code but a character.”
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